


Changing Dynamics

by mickeysixx



Category: Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Multi, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-12
Updated: 2007-12-12
Packaged: 2017-10-14 16:24:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/151196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickeysixx/pseuds/mickeysixx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah Jane Smith was not stupid. She was observant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changing Dynamics

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place a few years after the show ends and told through the eyes of Sarah Jane. All three are above the age consent, just so you know.
> 
>  _12 December 2007_

Sarah Jane Smith was not stupid. Loyal? Certainly. Stubborn? Most definitely! But one thing Sarah Jane wasn't was Stupid. She'd made mistakes, but she was only human and humans tended to make a lot of mistakes. Then again, so did the aliens; but making mistakes didn't mean they were stupid, just misinformed. Sarah Jane was neither stupid nor misinformed, but with over 30 years of dealing with alien life-forms and things from Space she had learned early on that Observation was the key.

So when things changed between her trio of companions, she was the first to pick up on it. At first she couldn't put her finger on it; wondering if they had had some sort of argument or falling out. Teenagers were prone to disagreements and drama, and these three were no exception; just because they were best friends didn't mean that they didn't argue from time to time. When Sarah Jane started looking deeper though, she found that it wasn't teenage drama at all.

She had watched the three of them grow into brave and bright individuals; Maria with her sunny smile and quick thinking, Clyde with his street-wise way of dealing with situations, and Luke, her incredibly intelligent son. They were seventeen now; on the verge of adulthood and they were slowly starting to notice each other in ways they hadn't before.

It was Maria she picked up on first. Maybe it was the base female connection between them that caused Sarah Jane to notice, or maybe it was Maria being so _obvious_. Either way, the young woman's eyes very often strayed to her attractive male friends and stared at them appreciatively. The three of them would be in the living room doing homework and Sarah Jane would be watching from the hall as Maria's eyes lifted and traced the shape of Clyde or Luke; the end of her pen absently finding its way to her mouth and gently going back and forth across her lip. If either of her friends looked up she would return her eyes to the paper immediately as though they had been there all the time. She would have pulled it off if it wasn't for the pale blush blossoming in her cheeks.

Clyde was even more obvious about it than Maria and how the young woman hadn't noticed yet was beyond Sarah Jane. The dark-skinned boy's eyes tracked Maria's form across whatever room they were in; drinking in his fill with dark eyes. A couple of times she even caught him staring at her bottom with his lip caught between his teeth. On those occasions, the older woman had found a way to knock into him or distract him; and smiled slyly when the boy's back was turned.

Then there was Luke. It had taken him a good couple of years to finally get used to being a human boy and all the trials and tribulations that came with it. Clyde and Maria had helped him a lot, and they seemed to have made quite an impression on him. Sarah Jane understood; Maria had been the first person that Luke had seen in the Bane's Bubble Shock factory and that had to have been a big impact on the boy. Understandable; it was bound to happen eventually, so Sarah Jane wasn't the least bit surprised when Luke's smile widened every time Maria stepped into the room. She noticed, like any good Mother would, when his eyes fell to her mouth when she talked and darkened when the young woman was under threat (which was quite often considering their role within Sarah Jane's life).

It worried her; all these puppy-dog looks and surreptitious glances. Two boys were after the same girl, and that was never a good situation. If either one of her boys spoke up and started courting young Maria, she knew that the other would be heartbroken. Luke would end up immersing himself in his books and things would become awkward between the three of them; their friendship would never be the same. Clyde would act like it didn't affect him and would continue to be his usual self around them for a month or two at best. Eventually, though, he'd start putting space between them and then stop coming around all together, which was something Sarah Jane did not want.

Then one day, Sarah Jane saw something that put a whole new spin on the situation. They were gathered in the Attic discussing their latest Alien-related problem when Luke's eyes strayed from the textbook in his hand. Only, they didn't fix on Maria's curvy form like they usually did. This time they sought out another person in the room.

Clyde.

It wasn't just simple observation. It wasn't the base male need to check out the competition. It was raw and there was a heat in her son's eyes that made her blush and look away.

Sarah Jane wasn't a prude. Her mind had been wide open since the moment she met The Doctor all those years ago, but it still threw her. It wasn't so much that Luke's look was directed at a boy; with all the things she'd seen over the years, gender and sex were hardly things to worry about anymore. No, it was the fact that Luke so obviously still carried a torch for Maria that worried her.

Clyde liked Maria, who liked Clyde back but also liked Luke, who was smitten with the both of them. It was a torturous love triangle that Sarah Jane could see no happy ending for. She loved them dearly and to think of the possibility of them hurting over this made her stomach twist and knot.

The tension had been building between them for the past two months but today was the day things came to a head. Sarah Jane was in the living room, curled up on the sofa with an astronomy book and a cup of tea when the front door opened and slammed shut quickly. Her head shot up in confusion just as heavy footfalls raced up the stairs, punctuated by another door slam. A frown marred her forehead as she carefully put down her mug and book and made her way up the stairs. Luke's bedroom door was shut and her frown only deepened when she didn't hear anything from inside the room.

Quietly, she knocked on the door, "Luke? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mum."

His reply was quick and so obviously a lie that Sarah Jane lifted both eyebrows in surprise. This wasn't like Luke. He might be a teenager, but he had never lied to her before. She could only assume something happened at school or with Maria and Clyde; if it was the latter, she knew she was in for a rocky couple of days.

With a small sigh, she left Luke's door and descended the staircase. Luke was clearly upset and not ready to talk to her, so she would give him space. But if he wasn't out of his room after two hours, she was going back up to talk to him. She sat back down on the sofa and picked up her book again, but she couldn't focus.

"Oh stop it, Sarah Jane!" he told herself firmly, "He's fine. He doesn't need you worrying over him. He has to work these things through by himself."

The pep talk didn't really help and she was glad when the doorbell rang an hour later, if only to give her something to take her mind off her troubled son for a few minutes. When she opened the door, however, she found that the people standing in front of her had something to do with Luke after all.

"Hi," Maria said slowly and without her usual beaming smile, "Is Luke in?"

She had a feeling the young woman knew the answer, but Sarah Jane didn't comment. She stood there for a few seconds, watching them with a wry smile and unable to be angry with them. Clyde glanced at her but quickly looked back at the floor and scuffed his foot on the stone step, looking as though someone had kicked his puppy. She stood aside and held the door open for them.

"He's in his room."

Maria smiled at her briefly before stepping over the threshold, dragging Clyde behind her. Sarah Jane closed the door and watched with a smile as they trudged up the stairs.

"Luke? It's us." She heard Maria say to the closed door. After a few silent seconds, Maria continued: "Let us in, Luke. Please?"

She heard the soft click of the lock and the quiet creek of the door as it opened and her smile widened. When the door closed again, Sarah Jane grabbed her jacket from the hook and her car keys from the side table.

"Time for a drive, I think." She said to herself as she opened the front door again and closed it behind her.

Things were going to be just fine.


End file.
